R. T. Miller, have you checked a part file for the parameters contained in it? Pro/e creates parts, from their default template, with two parameters already added to each: MODELLER and DESCRIPTION. You may not have entered values for these parameters, but they exist. Check what paramters exist in parts by going to 'Tools>Parameters'.
This is just one of a vast array of means that Pro/e has for creating parameters. Some of them are system parameters, some are users defined. Some are defined in part mode with 'Tools>Paramters' or 'Tools>Relations' or through Pro/PROGRAM. You also have at your disposal yet another way to create parameters, namely, through format tables. If the config.pro option 'make_parameters_from_fmt_tables' is set to YES, your format table is probably doing just that. Very handy, then you just edit the table to assign, all in one place, a whole bunch of values to those variables. This will work fine, as long as you are not trying to create a parameter which already exists. I'm not sure what error message it will give you, but there will be a conflict. If all of the parameters are created elsewhere (part, assembly, drawing) and 'make_parameters_from_fmt_tables' is set to NO, there should be no conflict from duplicate parameter creation. But, that would be the first thing I'd check.
Also, I know this is a long shot, I'd also check to see that '2d_region_columns_fit_text' is set to YES, since the error message refers to length. Pro/E error messages are notoriously vague and cryptic, as if they are for programmers, not users. Have you found any reference to that error message?
David Janes
I wanted to add a parameter (Description) in the report parameters of
> the Bill of Materials. I went to "Help" under the heading "About Bills
> of Material (BOMs)" and followed the instructions there.
>
> I received the error:
>
> %ERROR -- FORMAT SPECIFIER TOO LARGE OR TRANSLATED LINE TOO LONG >
>
> ---So I went back to the Help page, and I changed my personal .fmt to
> what the Help pages said were the default settings.
>
> I got the same error with the default settings.
>
> I deleted the whole thing from my config.pro file, and got what I
> normally get (without the description parameter that I wanted.)
>
> Can anyone tell me the mistake I'm making in my BOM_format file as > stated here?
>
> .breakdown
> %$type %$name %$description contains:
> .row %$quantity[6d]; %$type[12s]; %$name[15s]; %$description
> .summary
> Summary of parts for assembly %$name %$description
> .row %$quantity[6d]; %$type[12s]; %$name[15s]; %$description
>
> TIA,
>
> Indyrose